far out

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victorycountry

#478630 Mon, 18 Feb 08 10:58 PM

Hi,

Yesterday, I heard a someone saying, 'It's boiling here, far out!'.

Well, I hear a lot people saying 'far out', and I do aware the meaning of it ('strange').

But I, myself, don't really know when to use it?

I had a shift at a Japanese restaurant yesterday, and a customer was a bit unhappy of getting a cold rice and she want it replaced by a hot and steamed one.

In such a case, would I be able to say something like, ' Far out, I will change it for you.'

Thanks in advance.

victorycountry

Joined on Sat, Oct 16 2004

Full Member (296)

CalifJim

#478635 Mon, 18 Feb 08 11:16 PM

'It's boiling here, far out!'.

I find this a very peculiar usage of "Far out!" It doesn't really make sense to me.

' Far out, I will change it for you.'

"Far out!" is totally inappropriate, in my opinion, when speaking to a customer. It is really too slangy for use in such circumstances.

To my ear, it would be used in all the same situations where one would use "Wow!", or, more formally, "That's amazing!" Usually the meaning of "Far out!" includes the idea that something is amazing in a strange or weird way. Being served food that is not warm enough is not unusual enough to merit "Far out!"

-- I was born with seven fingers on each hand.

-- Far out!

-- A friend of mine got bored one day and memorized the dictionary.

-- Far out!

-- Wacko, the magician, is so good that he can make an elephant disappear.

-- Far out!

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,572)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Clive

#478637 Mon, 18 Feb 08 11:21 PM

Hi,

It seems to me like a rather old-fashioned idiom today. It began in the sixties, with the hippie culture of California.

Some idioms can be tricky to use correctly. My advice to you is just not to say it. It would certainly be inappropriate in the restaurant situation you have described.

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (20,485)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Idioms

victorycountry

#478644 Mon, 18 Feb 08 11:55 PM

Thanks very much, Jim and Clive.

Some idioms, well, unless you really understand it, I understand that it could offend people.

Because I had a few bad experiences after using some words or idioms incorrectly, some people became a bit unfriendly after that and the thing was I didn't mean that way but they understood that way.

Does it make sense?

Well, I think I understand the meaning of 'far out' now and when to use it.

Thanks again!!

Have a lovely day both of you!!

victorycountry

Idioms

CalifJim

#478697 Tue, 19 Feb 08 05:00 AM

Because I had a few bad experiences after using some words or idioms incorrectly, some people became a bit unfriendly after that and the thing was I didn't mean that way but they understood that way.

Does it make sense?

Yes. That makes sense, and it's understandable. You are not the only one that this sort of thing has happened to! Maybe you'll need to hear any given idiom several times, observing the context it's used in, before trying to use it yourself!

For example, if you are a waiter in a restaurant, you can't talk to customers the same way that the waiters talk to each other, so even if the waiters use an interesting new idiom you'd like to try, it's not always a good idea to try it on the customers! Smile

CalifJim

Idioms